Carmouche eager for second shot on UFC main card

Liz Carmouche (top), here battling Ronda Rousey during their fight at Honda Center in February, will become the first female fighter to appear twice on a UFC main card when she fights Jessica Andrade in Seattle on Saturday. JEFF GROSS, GETTY IMAGES

FIGHT OF THE WEEK

DEMETRIOUS JOHNSON vs. JOHN MORAGA

When: Saturday

Where: KeyArena, Seattle

How to watch: UFC on Fox 8 main card on Fox at 5 p.m.; UFC on Fox 8 prelims on FX at 2 p.m.; and UFC on Fox 8 prelims on Facebook at 1:05 p.m.

Outlook: Johnson (17-2-1) makes the second defense of his UFC flyweight championship against Moraga (13-1) in the main event of UFC on Fox 8.

Prediction: Moraga, a former two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State, brings a seven-fight winning streak, which includes four submissions and one KO, into his title shot. Moraga has strong wrestling and submission skills, but Johnson has excellent takedown defense, incredibly fast hands and kicks and great footwork. Johnson will overwhelm Moraga with speed and technique en route to a five-round decision.

Record in 2013 picks: 16-7

CARLOS ARIAS

It's hard for Liz Carmouche to stay anonymous or fly under the radar after her history-making bout against Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 on Feb. 23 at Honda Center.

In a rousing back-and-forth bout where Carmouche almost got Rousey to tap out to a neck crank before succumbing to an armbar with 11 seconds left in the first round, Rousey and Carmouche set the stage for women to be taken seriously inside the octagon with the first female fight in UFC history.

"It's been nothing but positive," Carmouche said. "There were a few skeptics going into the fight and that just affirmed what they already believed, but I'd say the other 98 percent of everyone else has been nothing but grateful for the performance and making that step forward for women's MMA. I'm just amazed at what we both did."

Carmouche, the first openly gay fighter in the UFC, can go relatively unnoticed in the gay community of Hillcrest in San Diego, which she calls her "safe haven," but nationally she gets invited to make appearances, ride on floats for gay pride events and speak to teenagers.

"It's been very humbling and just an honor to be that person for somebody," Carmouche said. "I've been watching more women showing up at the gym. Young women, teenagers and children have really been starting to get involved and see that it's actually a future they can make. Whereas before they didn't think it was possible."

Carmouche (8-3) will become the first female fighter to appear on two main cards in the UFC when she takes on Jessica Andrade (9-2) at UFC on Fox 8 on Saturday at 5 p.m. at KeyArena in Seattle.

"It's wild to never have women in the UFC and to now twice be on the main card," Carmouche said.

Carmouche is known for her powerful style of fighting and ability to finish fights, which is similar to Andrade's style.

"She's young, she's 21," Carmouche said of her opponent. "But in two years that she can already be fighting professionally as an adult and she has a record of 9-2, which to me says she's somebody with a lot of heart and hunger for the sport. That's amazing to me. She's a powerhouse. She's really strong. She's got strong stand-up. She's known for knocking out people as well as having really quick reactions of her back and on the ground. She's a really well-rounded fighter and it's going to be a great fight with an opponent where we share some similarities."

NOTES

The 125-pound flyweight division is in its second year in the UFC. MMA fans are still learning to appreciate the fighters in the UFC's lightest weight class. UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson is doing his best to win over fans with his flashy hand speed and style. Johnson makes his second title defense against John Moraga in the main event of UFC on Fox 8 on Saturday in Seattle. It's the second straight fight Johnson has headlined live on network television. Johnson has faced some criticism because has past seven fights have gone to the scorecards, but UFC president Dana White defended "Mighty Mouse" on Tuesday's conference call.

"I think that (UFC lightweight champion) Ben Henderson has fights that have gone to decisions, controversial decisions," White said. "Demetrious has gone to decisions. You know as long as they're exciting fights, there are all different types of fighters. Some guys go in and they knock people out. Some guys pull off submissions, some guys go to decisions and have exciting fights. The last fight with Demetrious was an exciting fight." ...

UFC welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger, who trains at Reign Training Center in Lake Forest, has won eight of his past nine fights, but he finds himself ranked below Rory MacDonald heading into their matchup at UFC on Fox 8. Ellenberger has been hammering MacDonald with verbal shots in recent weeks.

"I haven't said anything that wasn't true and my message to Rory is pretty clear: start tasting some flavors of baby food and find one you like and stock up because this isn't a Tears for Fears lookalike contest," Ellenberger said Tuesday. "All I said is for him to prepare for some horizontal television time, and I meant it."

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has faced loads of criticism for his showboating and taunting antics that eventually led to him getting knocked out by Chris Weidman at UFC 162 on July 6. White announced the Silva-Weidman rematch has been scheduled for UFC 168 on Dec. 28 in Las Vegas. Silva's longtime coach Cesario Bezerra said there were some issues with lack of focus during the training camp leading up to the Weidman fight.

"He regrets it, lost his focus," Bezerra told Brazil's Globo TV. "He apologized, but it's done. The important (thing) is that he has a chance to do it all over again. We lost three months. Anderson is complicated, there are too many things around him. We recently had a problem in the gym and I told him: 'Anderson, your job is with the hands, legs. Don't listen to those people, you're not a Hollywood star. Don't forget where you come from, things you've been through. You're the UFC champion. You're the star inside there, but here you need to be a simple man, that good and humble man. I don't understand what's happening to you.' I'm one of his oldest coaches here in Rio, so he listens to me. He answered me: 'Do you think so, master?' And I said: 'Of course. It wasn't nice. I don't know what you're doing, but you're letting success come to your head, losing humility.' He got upset when I said that, but he later recognized." ...

Michael Bisping of Orange and Mark Munoz of Lake Forest have verbally agreed to meet in a UFC on Fox Sports 1 event Oct. 26 in Manchester, England, according to a report by MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani. ...

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